Essence & Qi Blog

Massage Therapy for Concussions

Being involved in contact sports such as football, boxing, wrestling, martial arts and the like, requires extra care from the players. Prevention is still the best way to keep us healthy. Still, many things can happen with contact sports and one of the most common is having a concussion. When the head is forcefully hit against the skull, the brain is disturbed. It swells and at times, one can faint depending on the severity of the blow to the head. A concussion creates an increased intracranial pressure that may be fatal if not relieved immediately. This can make a person remain unconscious sometimes. This certainly is an emergency and health providers must be called immediately. Concussions can occur with most of the players as researched according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They report that approximately 300,000 people get mild to moderate sports-related brain injuries each year and most of them young men between 16 and 25. That is why a helmet is definitely needed to safeguard one from a concussion or any brain injury at that. In addition, complete gear is advised for whole body protection.

There are healing methods in Oriental Medicine that can help such as acupuncture, but massage therapy can also help patients deal with concussions. Massage therapy dates back to around 400 BC. Even Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, has writings that recommend the use of rubbing and friction for joint and circulatory problems. There are many conditions that attest to the use of massage, including low back pain, arthritis, fatigue, high blood pressure, diabetes, immunity suppression, infertility, smoking cessation, depression, and many more.

Now, using massage on patients who has concussions are currently being proven to be effective. The relaxing effect of massage helps the body produce endorphins, which causes the body to naturally have the sense of relaxation. This stops the swelling and thereby decreasing the intracranial pressure. Therapeutic massage has also been accounted to aid in faster recovery with certain ailments, as well as soothing and relieving tension.